International flights from Dibrugarh demandedStaff Correspondent DIBRUGARH, Feb 1 – The Eastern Assam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EACCI) has called upon Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju to introduce direct flights from Dibrugarh to Bangkok and Singapore, stating that the flights, if introduced, would be highly patronised by both holidaying passengers and also by the passengers on business trips.Members of the Eastern Assam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EACCI) and a group of intellectuals from the city met the Union Civil Aviation Minister at the Circuit House here on Thursday evening and apprised him of the potential of international flights and additional direct flights from the region to some of the major cities of the country.

In a memorandum, the EACCI informed the Union Minister that the full potential for the growth of civil aviation in the region, although was given the necessary attention by way of construction of the modern domestic terminal building and also sanctioning of the much needed runway extension project, more needed to be done.

EACCI said that Dibrugarh being the centre of a highly industrialised belt in different fields ranging from oil and natural gas to tourism and particularly tea tourism and wildlife tourism including polymers, communication particularly railways and civil aviation and also manufacturing and coal, international flights, needed to be introduced from Dibrugarh, which by virtue of its geographic proximity with the fast developing South-East Asia and also by virtue of its being the easternmost civilian airport of the country has the potential of becoming the ‘Doorway of the East’ for the country.

For sustaining and furthering international flights from Dibrugarh, the EACCI said the old terminal building needs to be dismantled and an international passenger terminal needs to be set up there utilising the space therein. The much needed runway extension project needs to expedited, they said. The business group and the local intellectuals also pressed for operating non-stop direct Air India daily flights on the Kolkata-Dibrugarh sector.